Intelligent disabling of browser plugins

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for disabling one or more plugins associated with a browser application are provided. In one exemplary method, a plugin is installed on an electronic device, and the device receives data from a data source, where that data is associated with the installed plugin. Whether the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria is determined. In accordance with a determination that that the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria: performance of a function with the installed plugin is foregone; and it is reported to the data source that the installed plugin is not installed on the electronic device. In accordance with a determination that the installed plugin does not meet the disabling criteria, the function is performed with the installed plugin.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/172,158, entitled “Intelligent Disabling of Browser Plugins,”filed Jun. 7, 2015, the content of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to plugins, and morespecifically to techniques for controlling one or more plugins underdifferent circumstances.

BACKGROUND

Modern electronic devices allow users to be more connected than ever topeople and to media. However, old techniques of delivering media to astationary electronic device or a mobile electronic device persist, andcan be burdensome or nonfunctional. For example, a browser applicationutilizes a plugin to play a particular type of media. Additionally, somewebsites or other data sources are capable of serving media information,such as video and/or audio data, to a browser application in severaldifferent formats.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Many plugins are, however, particularly vulnerable to malware attack.Therefore, a plugin that a user has used to watch a video can becomeinfected by malware, slowing or harming the user's electronic device,and potentially exposing the user's personal information to the creatoror user of that malware. Further, some plugins run inefficiently,causing the user to waste time waiting for the plugin to execute andcontributing to decreased battery life in portable devices. Some pluginsbecome unsupported over time, causing maintenance problems for a userwho may not be trained in technical matters. Despite these problems, auser may not wish to uninstall the plugin, because particularly wherethe user uses that plugin frequently to play back media from aparticular webpage or other data source. By allowing the plugin toremain on the electronic device, the user exposes himself or herself torisk. Some malware prevention software or services attempt to mitigatethis risk by disabling a plugin without user intervention, when it hasbeen determined that the plugin has been attacked by malware. However,this solution results in the user constantly being prompted to installthe plugin.

Moreover, websites or data sources that are capable of serving mediainformation (e.g., video and/or audio data) to a browser application inseveral different formats often do so preferentially in a particularformat. If the data source queries the browser application, and receivesinformation indicating that the plugin associated with the preferredformat of video and/or audio data is present even though that plugin isdisabled, then in some instances the data source does not serve videoand/or audio data to the user in a different format. Instead, the datasource requests (or insists) that the user enable the plugin associatedwith video and/or audio data in the preferred format. This occurs, forexample, where a browser application has the capability of running videoin HTML5 format directly without a plugin, and the data source iscapable of serving both HTML5 video and video in another format thatrequires a plugin to be enabled in order to play back the content in thebrowser application.

Some techniques for disabling one or more plugins associated with abrowser application using electronic devices, however, are generallycumbersome and inefficient. For example, existing techniques use amanual user interface, which in some embodiments includes multiple keypresses or keystrokes. In some embodiments, the user has to locate andnavigate to a preferences menu or other menu or screen, in order tomanually activate or deactivate a plugin each time the user wishes towatch a video or listen to a song. Existing techniques require more timethan necessary, wasting user time and device energy. This latterconsideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.

Accordingly, the present disclosure recognizes that existing techniquesfor controlling and using plugins may be particularly cumbersome andineffective. Therefore, the present disclosure provides for electronicdevices with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for disablingone or more plugins associated with a browser application. Such methodsand interfaces optionally complement or replace other methods fordisabling one or more plugins associated with a browser application.Such methods and interfaces reduce the cognitive burden on a user andproduce a more efficient human-machine interface. For all devices, thepresent disclosure provides for methods and interfaces that improveprotection against malware, and provides for display of media inpreferred formats that are less susceptible to malware or are otherwisepreferable. For battery-operated computing devices, such methods andinterfaces conserve power and increase the time between battery charges.Such methods and interfaces may also reduce the number of unnecessary,extraneous, repetitive, and/or redundant inputs, and may create a fasterand more efficient user interface arrangement, which may reduce thenumber of required inputs, reduce processing power, and reduce theamount of time for which user interfaces need to be displayed in orderfor desired functions to be accessed and carried out.

In some embodiments, a method of disabling one or more pluginsassociated with a browser application includes: at an electronic devicewith a display: while a plugin is installed on the device, receivingfirst data from a data source, the first data associated with theinstalled plugin; in response to receiving the first data from the datasource while the plugin is installed on the device, determining if theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria; in accordance with adetermination that the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria:forgoing performance of a function with the installed plugin; andreporting to the data source that the installed plugin is not installedon the electronic device; in accordance with a determination that theinstalled plugin does not meet the disabling criteria, performing thefunction with the installed plugin.

In some embodiments, an electronic device includes: a display; a memory;a processor coupled to the display and the memory; and an installedplugin stored in the memory and executable by the processor; theprocessor configured to: receive first data from a data source, thefirst data associated with the installed plugin; in response to receiptof the first data from the data source, determining if the installedplugin meets a disabling criteria; in accordance with a determinationthat the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria: forgo performanceof a function with the installed plugin; and report to the data sourcethat the installed plugin is not installed on the electronic device; inaccordance with a determination that the installed plugin does not meetthe disabling criteria, perform the function with the installed plugin.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstores one or more programs, the one or more programs comprisinginstructions, which when executed by an electronic device, cause theelectronic device to: while a plugin is installed on the device receivefirst data from a data source, the first data associated with theinstalled plugin; in response to receipt of the first data from the datasource while the plugin is installed on the device, determining if theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria; in accordance with adetermination that the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria:forgo performance of a function with the installed plugin; and report tothe data source that the installed plugin is not installed on theelectronic device; in accordance with a determination that the installedplugin does not meet the disabling criteria, perform the function withthe installed plugin.

In some embodiments, a transitory computer-readable medium stores one ormore programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, whichwhen executed by an electronic device, cause the electronic device to:while a plugin is installed on the device receive first data from a datasource, the first data associated with the installed plugin; in responseto receipt of the first data from the data source while the plugin isinstalled on the device, determining if the installed plugin meets adisabling criteria; in accordance with a determination that theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria: forgo performance of afunction with the installed plugin; and report to the data source thatthe installed plugin is not installed on the electronic device; inaccordance with a determination that the installed plugin does not meetthe disabling criteria, perform the function with the installed plugin.

In some embodiments, a system utilizes an electronic device with adisplay, where the system includes: means, while a plugin is installedon the device, for receiving first data from a data source, the firstdata associated with the installed plugin; means, responsive toreceiving the first data from the data source while the plugin isinstalled on the device, for determining if the installed plugin meets adisabling criteria; in accordance with a determination that theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria: forgoing performance of afunction with the installed plugin; and reporting to the data sourcethat the installed plugin is not installed on the electronic device; inaccordance with a determination that the installed plugin does not meetthe disabling criteria, performing the function with the installedplugin.

In some embodiments, an electronic device, includes: a processing unitthat includes a determining unit, the processing unit configured to:enable, while a plugin is installed on the device, receiving first datafrom a data source, the first data associated with the installed plugin;determine using the determining unit, in response to receipt of thefirst data from the data source while the plugin is installed on thedevice, if the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria; inaccordance with a determination that the installed plugin meets adisabling criteria: forgo performance of a function with the installedplugin; and report to the data source that the installed plugin is notinstalled on the electronic device; in accordance with a determinationthat the installed plugin does not meet the disabling criteria, performthe function with the installed plugin.

Thus, devices are provided with faster, more efficient methods andinterfaces for disabling one or more plugins associated with a browserapplication, thereby increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and usersatisfaction with such devices. Such methods and interfaces complementor replace other methods for disabling one or more plugins associatedwith a browser application.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

For a better understanding of the various described embodiments,reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, inconjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numeralsrefer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction devicewith a touch-sensitive display in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screenin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunctiondevice with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the displayin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrates a personal electronic device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram illustrating a personal electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate exemplary user interfaces for a personalelectronic device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate a flow diagram of an exemplary process fordisabling one or more plugins associated with a browser application, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following description sets forth exemplary methods, parameters, andthe like. It should be recognized, however, that such description is notintended as a limitation on the scope of the present disclosure but isinstead provided as a description of exemplary embodiments.

As noted above, the present disclosure provides for electronic deviceswith faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for disabling one ormore plugins associated with a browser application, because the use ofsuch plugins pose a malware risk to the user's electronic device ordata. The present disclosure addresses this problem by reporting to adata source such as a website that a particular plugin is not installed,even when it is actually installed. Because many data sources servemedia information in multiple formats (such as, for example, proprietaryformats and HTML5), when it is reported to a data source that aparticular plugin is not installed in a browser application (even thoughit is actually installed in the browser application), the data sourcewill serve the media in a more favored format, such as HTML5, which canbe experienced by a user.

Below, FIGS. 1A-1B, 2, 3, 4A-4B, and 5A-5B provide a description ofexemplary devices for performing the techniques for disabling one ormore plugins associated with a browser application. FIGS. 6A-6Billustrate exemplary user interfaces for disabling one or more pluginsassociated with a browser application. FIGS. 7A-7D are flow diagramsillustrating methods of disabling one or more plugins associated with abrowser application in accordance with some embodiments. The userinterfaces in FIGS. 6A-6B are used to illustrate the processes describedbelow, including the processes in FIGS. 7A-7D.

Although the following description uses terms “first,” “second,” etc. todescribe various elements, these elements should not be limited by theterms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element fromanother. For example, a first touch could be termed a second touch, and,similarly, a second touch could be termed a first touch, withoutdeparting from the scope of the various described embodiments. The firsttouch and the second touch are both touches, but they are not the sametouch.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedembodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in thedescription of the various described embodiments and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an,” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

The term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in responseto determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or“in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition orevent]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],”depending on the context.

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/ormusic player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunctiondevices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad®devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronicdevices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitivesurfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touchpads), are,optionally, used. It should also be understood that, in someembodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but isa desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screendisplay and/or a touchpad).

In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the electronic device optionally includes oneor more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physicalkeyboard, a mouse, and/or a joystick.

The device optionally supports a variety of applications, such as one ormore of the following: a drawing application, a presentationapplication, a word processing application, a website creationapplication, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, agaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencingapplication, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, aworkout support application, a photo management application, a digitalcamera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that are executed on the device optionally useat least one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the deviceare, optionally, adjusted and/or varied from one application to the nextand/or within a respective application. In this way, a common physicalarchitecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the deviceoptionally supports the variety of applications with user interfacesthat are intuitive and transparent to the user.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices withtouch-sensitive displays. FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustratingportable multifunction device 100 with touch-sensitive display system112 in accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 112 issometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience and is sometimes knownas or called a “touch-sensitive display system.” Device 100 includesmemory 102 (which optionally includes one or more computer-readablestorage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units(CPUs) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem 106,other input control devices 116, and external port 124. Device 100optionally includes one or more optical sensors 164. Device 100optionally includes one or more contact intensity sensors 165 fordetecting intensity of contacts on device 100 (e.g., a touch-sensitivesurface such as touch-sensitive display system 112 of device 100).Device 100 optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 167for generating tactile outputs on device 100 (e.g., generating tactileoutputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive displaysystem 112 of device 100 or touchpad 355 of device 300). Thesecomponents optionally communicate over one or more communication busesor signal lines 103.

As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of acontact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure(force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on thetouch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force orpressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The intensity of acontact has a range of values that includes at least four distinctvalues and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., atleast 256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (ormeasured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinationsof sensors. For example, one or more force sensors underneath oradjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measureforce at various points on the touch-sensitive surface. In someimplementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors arecombined (e.g., a weighted average) to determine an estimated force of acontact. Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally,used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitivesurface. Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on thetouch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of thetouch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto,and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to thecontact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute forthe force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Insome implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force orpressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity thresholdhas been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in unitscorresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations,the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are convertedto an estimated force or pressure, and the estimated force or pressureis used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded(e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in unitsof pressure). Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a userinput allows for user access to additional device functionality that mayotherwise not be accessible by the user on a reduced-size device withlimited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on atouch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via atouch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or aphysical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output”refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previousposition of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., atouch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component(e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relativeto a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user withthe user's sense of touch. For example, in situations where the deviceor the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a userthat is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of auser's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacementwill be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding toa perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or thecomponent of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitivesurface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally,interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physicalactuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensationsuch as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement ofa physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surfacethat is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements. Asanother example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally,interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitivesurface, even when there is no change in smoothness of thetouch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a userwill be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user,there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a largemajority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described ascorresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “upclick,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, thegenerated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of thedevice or a component thereof that will generate the described sensoryperception for a typical (or average) user.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 100 optionally has moreor fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or morecomponents, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 1A areimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware andsoftware, including one or more signal processing and/orapplication-specific integrated circuits.

Memory 102 optionally can include one or more computer-readable storagemediums. The computer-readable storage mediums optionally can betangible and non-transitory. Memory 102 optionally can includehigh-speed random access memory and also optionally can includenon-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices,flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices.Memory controller 122 optionally can control access to memory 102 byother components of device 100. Executable instructions for performingthese functions are, optionally, included in a transitorycomputer-readable storage medium or other computer program productconfigured for execution by one or more processors.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or moreprocessors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions fordevice 100 and to process data. In some embodiments, peripheralsinterface 118, CPU 120, and memory controller 122 optionally can beimplemented on a single chip, such as chip 104. In some otherembodiments, they optionally can be implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 optionally includes well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 108 optionally communicates with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The RF circuitry 108optionally includes well-known circuitry for detecting near fieldcommunication (NFC) fields, such as by a short-range communicationradio. The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols, and technologies, including but notlimited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced DataGSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO),HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), nearfield communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n,and/or IEEE 802.11ac), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, aprotocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP)and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensiblemessaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol forInstant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), InstantMessaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service(SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, includingcommunication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of thisdocument.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data optionally can beretrieved from and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108by peripherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110also includes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jackprovides an interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audioinput/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headsetwith both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input(e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, suchas touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripheralsinterface 118. I/O subsystem 106 optionally includes display controller156, optical sensor controller 158, intensity sensor controller 159,haptic feedback controller 161, and one or more input controllers 160for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers160 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input control devices116. The other input control devices 116 optionally include physicalbuttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, sliderswitches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternateembodiments, input controller(s) 160 are, optionally, coupled to any (ornone) of the following: a keyboard, an infrared port, a USB port, and apointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG.2) optionally include an up/down button for volume control of speaker111 and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons optionally include apush button (e.g., 206, FIG. 2).

A quick press of the push button optionally can disengage a lock oftouch screen 112 or begin a process that uses gestures on the touchscreen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on anUnlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,849, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A longer press of thepush button (e.g., 206) optionally can turn power to device 100 on oroff. The user optionally can be able to customize a functionality of oneor more of the buttons. Touch screen 112 is used to implement virtual orsoft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output optionally caninclude graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof(collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all ofthe visual output optionally can correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with anyassociated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen112 and convert the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages,or images) that are displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplaryembodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 112 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 112 optionally can use LCD (liquid crystal display)technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED(light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologiesoptionally can be used in other embodiments. Touch screen 112 anddisplay controller 156 optionally can detect contact and any movement orbreaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologiesnow known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive,resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well asother proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one ormore points of contact with touch screen 112. In an exemplaryembodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used,such as that found in the iPhone® and iPod Touch® from Apple Inc. ofCupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112optionally can be analogous to the multi-touch sensitive touchpadsdescribed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.),U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No.6,677,932 (Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1,each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.However, touch screen 112 displays visual output from device 100,whereas touch-sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112optionally can be as described in the following applications: (1) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch SurfaceController,” filed May 2, 2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/840,862, “Multipoint Touchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive InputDevices,” filed Jul. 30, 2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/048,264, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31,2005; (5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-BasedGraphical User Interfaces For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan.18, 2005; (6) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,758, “VirtualInput Device Placement On A Touch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16,2005; (7) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of AComputer With A Touch Screen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of ATouch-Screen Virtual Keyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,”filed Mar. 3, 2006. All of these applications are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

Touch screen 112 may have a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. Insome embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user optionally can make contact with touchscreen 112 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, afinger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface isdesigned to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures,which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger areaof contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, thedevice translates the rough finger-based input into a precisepointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired bythe user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100optionally can include a touchpad (not shown) for activating ordeactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad isa touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, doesnot display visual output. The touchpad optionally can be atouch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen 112 or anextension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 162 optionally can include a power managementsystem, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current(AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a powerconverter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emittingdiode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 also optionally can include one or more optical sensors 164.FIG. 1A shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158in I/O subsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 optionally can includecharge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lenses, and converts thelight to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module143 (also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 optionally cancapture still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor islocated on the back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112 onthe front of the device so that the touch screen display optionally canbe used as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. Insome embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of thedevice so that the user's image optionally can be obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conferenceparticipants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, theposition of optical sensor 164 can be changed by the user (e.g., byrotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a singleoptical sensor 164 optionally can be used along with the touch screendisplay for both video conferencing and still and/or video imageacquisition.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more contact intensitysensors 165. FIG. 1A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled tointensity sensor controller 159 in I/O subsystem 106. Contact intensitysensor 165 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges,capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric forcesensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, orother intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (orpressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensitysensor 165 receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressureinformation or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocatedwith, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitivedisplay system 112). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensitysensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch screendisplay 112, which is located on the front of device 100.

Device 100 also optionally can include one or more proximity sensors166. FIG. 1A shows proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface118. Alternately, proximity sensor 166 optionally can be coupled toinput controller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. Proximity sensor 166optionally can perform as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/241,839, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No.11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No.11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor To Augment Proximity SensorOutput”; Ser. No. 11/586,862, “Automated Response To And Sensing Of UserActivity In Portable Devices”; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, “Methods AndSystems For Automatic Configuration Of Peripherals,” which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, theproximity sensor turns off and disables touch screen 112 when themultifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the useris making a phone call).

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more tactile outputgenerators 167. FIG. 1A shows a tactile output generator coupled tohaptic feedback controller 161 in I/O subsystem 106. Tactile outputgenerator 167 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devicessuch as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanicaldevices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor,solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostaticactuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., acomponent that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on thedevice). Contact intensity sensor 165 receives tactile feedbackgeneration instructions from haptic feedback module 133 and generatestactile outputs on device 100 that are capable of being sensed by a userof device 100. In some embodiments, at least one tactile outputgenerator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112) and, optionally, generates atactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g.,in/out of a surface of device 100) or laterally (e.g., back and forth inthe same plane as a surface of device 100). In some embodiments, atleast one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back ofdevice 100, opposite touch screen display 112, which is located on thefront of device 100.

Device 100 also optionally can include one or more accelerometers 168.FIG. 1A shows accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 optionally can be coupled to an inputcontroller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. Accelerometer 168 optionally canperform as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050190059,“Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable ElectronicDevices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060017692, “Methods AndApparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,”both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Insome embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen displayin a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of datareceived from the one or more accelerometers. Device 100 optionallyincludes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 168, a magnetometer (notshown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver(not shown) for obtaining information concerning the location andorientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102include operating system 126, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or setof instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments, memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3)stores device/global internal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 3.Device/global internal state 157 includes one or more of: activeapplication state, indicating which applications, if any, are currentlyactive; display state, indicating what applications, views or otherinformation occupy various regions of touch screen display 112; sensorstate, including information obtained from the device's various sensorsand input control devices 116; and location information concerning thedevice's location and/or attitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, iOS,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 124 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/orexternal port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with, the30-pin connector used on iPod® (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects contact with touch screen112 (in conjunction with display controller 156) and othertouch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).Contact/motion module 130 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-downevent), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force orpressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of thecontact), determining if there is movement of the contact and trackingthe movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one ormore finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).Contact/motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch-sensitivesurface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which isrepresented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determiningspeed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or anacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point ofcontact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156 detect contact on atouchpad.

In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 uses a set of one or moreintensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has beenperformed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” onan icon). In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensitythresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g.,the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholdsof particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changingthe physical hardware of device 100). For example, a mouse “click”threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of alarge range of predefined threshold values without changing the trackpador touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in some implementations,a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjustingone or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjustingindividual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality ofintensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity”parameter).

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities ofdetected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected bydetecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a fingertap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detectinga finger-up (liftoff) event at the same position (or substantially thesame position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of anicon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on thetouch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followedby detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequentlyfollowed by detecting a finger-up (liftoff) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display,including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness,transparency, saturation, contrast, or other visual property) ofgraphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics”includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including, withoutlimitation, text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objectsincluding soft keys), digital images, videos, animations, and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned acorresponding code. Graphics module 132 receives, from applicationsetc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with,if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and thengenerates screen image data to output to display controller 156.

Haptic feedback module 133 includes various software components forgenerating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 167 toproduce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 100 inresponse to user interactions with device 100.

Text input module 134, which optionally can be a component of graphicsmodule 132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in variousapplications (e.g., contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, andany other application that needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 foruse in location-based dialing; to camera 143 as picture/video metadata;and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 optionally can include the following modules (or setsof instructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   Telephone module 138;    -   Video conference module 139;    -   E-mail client module 140;    -   Instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   Workout support module 142;    -   Camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   Image management module 144;    -   Video player module;    -   Music player module;    -   Browser module 147;    -   Calendar module 148;    -   Widget modules 149, which optionally can include one or more of:        weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget        149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and        other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created        widgets 149-6;    -   Widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   Search module 151;    -   Video and music player module 152, which merges video player        module and music player module;    -   Notes module 153;    -   Map module 154; and/or    -   Online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that optionally can be stored inmemory 102 include other word processing applications, other imageediting applications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, contacts module 137 optionally can be used to manage an addressbook or contact list (e.g., stored in application internal state 192 ofcontacts module 137 in memory 102 or memory 370), including: addingname(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from the address book;associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physicaladdress(es) or other information with a name; associating an image witha name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephone numbers ore-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communications bytelephone 138, video conference module 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; andso forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact/motionmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephonemodule 138 optionally can be used to enter a sequence of characterscorresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephonenumbers in contacts module 137, modify a telephone number that has beenentered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation, anddisconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As notedabove, the wireless communication optionally can use any of a pluralityof communications standards, protocols, and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact/motion module 130, graphicsmodule 132, text input module 134, contacts module 137, and telephonemodule 138, video conference module 139 includes executable instructionsto initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a userand one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executableinstructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response touser instructions. In conjunction with image management module 144,e-mail client module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mailswith still or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages, and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages optionally can include graphics, photos, audio files,video files and/or other attachments as are supported in an MMS and/oran Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging”refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMSor MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP,SIMPLE, or IMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music playermodule, workout support module 142 includes executable instructions tocreate workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burninggoals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receiveworkout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; selectand play music for a workout; and display, store, and transmit workoutdata.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact/motion module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134,and camera module 143, image management module 144 includes executableinstructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate,label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), andstore still and/or video images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and textinput module 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147,calendar module 148 includes executable instructions to create, display,modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g.,calendar entries, to-do lists, etc.) in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 aremini-applications that optionally can be downloaded and used by a user(e.g., weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or createdby the user (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, awidget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS(Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In someembodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) fileand a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150optionally can be used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning auser-specified portion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, search module 151 includes executable instructions to search fortext, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 thatmatch one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specifiedsearch terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, video and musicplayer module 152 includes executable instructions that allow the userto download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present, or otherwise play back videos (e.g.,on touch screen 112 or on an external, connected display via externalport 124). In some embodiments, device 100 optionally includes thefunctionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module134, notes module 153 includes executable instructions to create andmanage notes, to-do lists, and the like in accordance with userinstructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, textinput module 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154optionally can be used to receive, display, modify, and store maps anddata associated with maps (e.g., driving directions, data on stores andother points of interest at or near a particular location, and otherlocation-based data) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156,contact/motion module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110,speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail clientmodule 140, and browser module 147, online video module 155 includesinstructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., bystreaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or onan external, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mailwith a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage onlinevideos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments,instant messaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, isused to send a link to a particular online video. Additional descriptionof the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20,2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “PortableMultifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for PlayingOnline Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Each of the above-identified modules and applications corresponds to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules,and thus various subsets of these modules optionally can be combined orotherwise rearranged in various embodiments. For example, video playermodule optionally can be combined with music player module into a singlemodule (e.g., video and music player module 152, FIG. 1A). In someembodiments, memory 102 optionally can store a subset of the modules anddata structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 102 optionally canstore additional modules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 100 optionally can be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through atouch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation betweenuser interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by theuser, navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that is displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, a “menubutton” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, themenu button is a physical push button or other physical input controldevice instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 (FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g., inoperating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., any ofthe aforementioned applications 137-151, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines theapplication 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes eventmonitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments,application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitivedisplay 112 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter170 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, andapplication internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determineapplication views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166,accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/Osubsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripherals interface 118 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more viewswhen touch-sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected optionally can correspond to programmaticlevels within a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. Forexample, the lowest level view in which a touch is detected optionallycan be called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized asproper inputs optionally can be determined based, at least in part, onthe hit view of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related tosub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multipleviews organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which shouldhandle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowestlevel view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (e.g., the firstsub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potentialevent). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determinationmodule 172, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related tothe same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hitview.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 173 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver 182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, objectupdater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from eventsorter 170. Event handler 190 optionally can utilize or call dataupdater 176, object updater 177, or GUI updater 178 to update theapplication internal state 192. Alternatively, one or more of theapplication views 191 include one or more respective event handlers 190.Also, in some embodiments, one or more of data updater 176, objectupdater 177, and GUI updater 178 are included in a respectiveapplication view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g.,event data 179) from event sorter 170 and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 andevent comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event deliveryinstructions 188 (which optionally can include sub-event deliveryinstructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the eventinformation optionally can also include speed and direction of thesub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the devicefrom one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to alandscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event informationincludes corresponding information about the current orientation (alsocalled device attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes eventdefinitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event (187) include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second liftoff (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and liftoff of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example,event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event (187) alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, therespective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers optionally can interact, or are enabled to interact, withone another. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurableproperties, flags, and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events aredelivered to varying levels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates eventhandler 190 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used inapplication 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates andupdates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater177 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to dataupdater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In someembodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 orapplication view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 withinput devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. Forexample, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinatedwith single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movementssuch as taps, drags, scrolls, etc. on touchpads; pen stylus inputs;movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements;biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilizedas inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to berecognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screenoptionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200.In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabledto select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on thegraphics, for example, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scalein the figure) or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one ormore swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward),and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 100. In someimplementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphicdoes not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweepsover an application icon optionally does not select the correspondingapplication when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 100 also optionally can include one or more physical buttons,such as “home” or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button204 optionally can be used to navigate to any application 136 in a setof applications that optionally can be executed on device 100.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as asoft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen 112.

In some embodiments, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 208, subscriber identity module(SIM) card slot 210, headset jack 212, and docking/charging externalport 124. Push button 206 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/offon the device by depressing the button and holding the button in thedepressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device bydepressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also acceptsverbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions throughmicrophone 113. Device 100 also, optionally, includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 165 for detecting intensity of contacts ontouch screen 112 and/or one or more tactile output generators 167 forgenerating tactile outputs for a user of device 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 310, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communicationbuses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) thatinterconnects and controls communications between system components.Device 300 includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display340, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 alsooptionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)350 and touchpad 355, tactile output generator 357 for generatingtactile outputs on device 300 (e.g., similar to tactile outputgenerator(s) 167 described above with reference to FIG. 1A), sensors 359(e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contactintensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 165 describedabove with reference to FIG. 1A). Memory 370 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solidstate memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 370 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from CPU(s) 310. In some embodiments, memory 370 storesprograms, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs,modules, and data structures stored in memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100 (FIG. 1A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore,memory 370 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and datastructures not present in memory 102 of portable multifunction device100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 optionally stores drawingmodule 380, presentation module 382, word processing module 384, websitecreation module 386, disk authoring module 388, and/or spreadsheetmodule 390, while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG.1A) optionally does not store these modules.

Each of the above-identified elements in FIG. 3 optionally can be storedin one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of theabove-identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions forperforming a function described above. The above-identified modules orprograms (e.g., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules optionally can be combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370optionally can store a subset of the modules and data structuresidentified above. Furthermore, memory 370 optionally can storeadditional modules and data structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces thatoptionally can be implemented on, for example, portable multifunctiondevice 100.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces optionally can be implementedon device 300. In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s),        such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;    -   Time 404;    -   Bluetooth indicator 405;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Icon 416 for telephone module 138, labeled “Phone,” which            optionally includes an indicator 414 of the number of missed            calls or voicemail messages;        -   Icon 418 for e-mail client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which            optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread            e-mails;        -   Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser;” and        -   Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, also            referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152,            labeled “iPod;” and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Messages;”        -   Icon 426 for calendar module 148, labeled “Calendar;”        -   Icon 428 for image management module 144, labeled “Photos;”        -   Icon 430 for camera module 143, labeled “Camera;”        -   Icon 432 for online video module 155, labeled “Online            Video;”        -   Icon 434 for stocks widget 149-2, labeled “Stocks;”        -   Icon 436 for map module 154, labeled “Maps;”        -   Icon 438 for weather widget 149-1, labeled “Weather;”        -   Icon 440 for alarm clock widget 149-4, labeled “Clock;”        -   Icon 442 for workout support module 142, labeled “Workout            Support;”        -   Icon 444 for notes module 153, labeled “Notes;” and        -   Icon 446 for a settings application or module, labeled            “Settings,” which provides access to settings for device 100            and its various applications 136.

It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG. 4A aremerely exemplary. For example, icon 422 for video and music playermodule 152 optionally can optionally be labeled “Music” or “MusicPlayer.” Other labels are, optionally, used for various applicationicons. In some embodiments, a label for a respective application iconincludes a name of an application corresponding to the respectiveapplication icon. In some embodiments, a label for a particularapplication icon is distinct from a name of an application correspondingto the particular application icon.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g.,device 300, FIG. 3) with a touch-sensitive surface 451 (e.g., a tabletor touchpad 355, FIG. 3) that is separate from the display 450 (e.g.,touch screen display 112). Device 300 also, optionally, includes one ormore contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 357) fordetecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 451 and/orone or more tactile output generators 359 for generating tactile outputsfor a user of device 300.

Although some of the examples which follow will be given with referenceto inputs on touch screen display 112 (where the touch-sensitive surfaceand the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detectsinputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,as shown in FIG. 4B. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface(e.g., 451 in FIG. 4B) has a primary axis (e.g., 452 in FIG. 4B) thatcorresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 453 in FIG. 4B) on the display(e.g., 450). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detectscontacts (e.g., 460 and 462 in FIG. 4B) with the touch-sensitive surface451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display(e.g., in FIG. 4B, 460 corresponds to 468 and 462 corresponds to 470).In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 460 and 462, and movementsthereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,451 in FIG. 4B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interfaceon the display (e.g., 450 in FIG. 4B) of the multifunction device whenthe touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should beunderstood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other userinterfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures,finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in someembodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with inputfrom another input device (e.g., a mouse-based input or stylus input).For example, a swipe gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click(e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor alongthe path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). Asanother example, a tap gesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouseclick while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture(e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detectthe contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneouslydetected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice are,optionally, used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are,optionally, used simultaneously.

FIG. 5A illustrates exemplary personal electronic device 500. Device 500includes body 502. In some embodiments, device 500 can include some orall of the features described with respect to devices 100 and 300 (e.g.,FIGS. 1A-4B). In some embodiments, device 500 has touch-sensitivedisplay screen 504, hereafter touch screen 504. Alternatively, or inaddition to touch screen 504, device 500 has a display and atouch-sensitive surface. As with devices 100 and 300, in someembodiments, touch screen 504 (or the touch-sensitive surface)optionally can have one or more intensity sensors for detectingintensity of contacts (e.g., touches) being applied. The one or moreintensity sensors of touch screen 504 (or the touch-sensitive surface)can provide output data that represents the intensity of touches. Theuser interface of device 500 can respond to touches based on theirintensity, meaning that touches of different intensities can invokedifferent user interface operations on device 500.

Techniques for detecting and processing touch intensity optionally canbe found, for example, in related applications: International PatentApplication Serial No. PCT/US2013/040061, titled “Device, Method, andGraphical User Interface for Displaying User Interface ObjectsCorresponding to an Application,” filed May 8, 2013, and InternationalPatent Application Serial No. PCT/US2013/069483, titled “Device, Method,and Graphical User Interface for Transitioning Between Touch Input toDisplay Output Relationships,” filed Nov. 11, 2013, each of which ishereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In some embodiments, device 500 has one or more input mechanisms 506 and508. Input mechanisms 506 and 508, if included, can be physical.Examples of physical input mechanisms include push buttons and rotatablemechanisms. In some embodiments, device 500 has one or more attachmentmechanisms. Such attachment mechanisms, if included, can permitattachment of device 500 with, for example, hats, eyewear, earrings,necklaces, shirts, jackets, bracelets, watch straps, chains, trousers,belts, shoes, purses, backpacks, and so forth. These attachmentmechanisms optionally can permit device 500 to be worn by a user.

FIG. 5B depicts exemplary personal electronic device 500. In someembodiments, device 500 can include some or all of the componentsdescribed with respect to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 3. Device 500 has bus 512that operatively couples I/O section 514 with one or more computerprocessors 516 and memory 518. I/O section 514 can be connected todisplay 504, which can have touch-sensitive component 522 and,optionally, touch-intensity sensitive component 524. In addition, I/Osection 514 can be connected with communication unit 530 for receivingapplication and operating system data, using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, nearfield communication (NFC), cellular, and/or other wireless communicationtechniques. Device 500 can include input mechanisms 506 and/or 508.Input mechanism 506 optionally can be a rotatable input device or adepressible and rotatable input device, for example. Input mechanism 508optionally can be a button, in some examples.

Input mechanism 508 optionally can be a microphone, in some examples.Personal electronic device 500 can include various sensors, such as GPSsensor 532, accelerometer 534, directional sensor 540 (e.g., compass),gyroscope 536, motion sensor 538, and/or a combination thereof, all ofwhich can be operatively connected to I/O section 514.

Memory 518 of personal electronic device 500 can be a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium, for storing computer-executableinstructions, which, when executed by one or more computer processors516, for example, can cause the computer processors to perform thetechniques described above, including process 700 (FIGS. 7A-7D). Thecomputer-executable instructions can also be stored and/or transportedwithin any non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use by orin connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, orother system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Forpurposes of this document, a “non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium” can be any medium that can tangibly contain or storecomputer-executable instructions for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium can include, but is not limited to,magnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor storages. Examples of suchstorage include magnetic disks, optical discs based on CD, DVD, orBlu-ray technologies, as well as persistent solid-state memory such asflash, solid-state drives, and the like. Personal electronic device 500is not limited to the components and configuration of FIG. 5B, but caninclude other or additional components in multiple configurations.

As used here, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactivegraphical user interface object that optionally can be displayed on thedisplay screen of devices 100, 300, and/or 500 (FIGS. 1, 3, and 5). Forexample, an image (e.g., icon), a button, and text (e.g., hyperlink)optionally can each constitute an affordance.

As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input elementthat indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user isinteracting. In some implementations that include a cursor or otherlocation marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector” so that when aninput (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touchpad 355 in FIG. 3 or touch-sensitive surface 451 in FIG. 4B)while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., abutton, window, slider or other user interface element), the particularuser interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detectedinput. In some implementations that include a touch screen display(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112 in FIG. 1A or touch screen 112in FIG. 4A) that enables direct interaction with user interface elementson the touch screen display, a detected contact on the touch screen actsas a “focus selector” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by thecontact) is detected on the touch screen display at a location of aparticular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider, orother user interface element), the particular user interface element isadjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementations,focus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region ofthe user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor ormovement of a contact on a touch screen display (e.g., by using a tabkey or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); inthese implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance withmovement of focus between different regions of the user interface.Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, thefocus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on atouch screen display) that is controlled by the user so as tocommunicate the user's intended interaction with the user interface(e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interfacewith which the user is intending to interact). For example, the locationof a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact, or a selection box) overa respective button while a press input is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicatethat the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposedto other user interface elements shown on a display of the device).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristicintensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact basedon one or more intensities of the contact. In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples. Thecharacteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number ofintensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during apredetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting thecontact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or afterdetecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an endof the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity ofthe contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity ofthe contact). A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionallybased on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of thecontact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an averagevalue of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value ofthe intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of theintensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of theintensities of the contact, or the like. In some embodiments, theduration of the contact is used in determining the characteristicintensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of theintensity of the contact over time). In some embodiments, thecharacteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensitythresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by auser. For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholdsoptionally can include a first intensity threshold and a secondintensity threshold. In this example, a contact with a characteristicintensity that does not exceed the first threshold results in a firstoperation, a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds thefirst intensity threshold and does not exceed the second intensitythreshold results in a second operation, and a contact with acharacteristic intensity that exceeds the second threshold results in athird operation. In some embodiments, a comparison between thecharacteristic intensity and one or more thresholds is used to determinewhether or not to perform one or more operations (e.g., whether toperform a respective operation or forgo performing the respectiveoperation) rather than being used to determine whether to perform afirst operation or a second operation.

In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposesof determining a characteristic intensity. For example, atouch-sensitive surface optionally can receive a continuous swipecontact transitioning from a start location and reaching an endlocation, at which point the intensity of the contact increases. In thisexample, the characteristic intensity of the contact at the end locationoptionally can be based on only a portion of the continuous swipecontact, and not the entire swipe contact (e.g., only the portion of theswipe contact at the end location). In some embodiments, a smoothingalgorithm optionally can be applied to the intensities of the swipecontact prior to determining the characteristic intensity of thecontact. For example, the smoothing algorithm optionally includes one ormore of: an unweighted sliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangularsmoothing algorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and/or anexponential smoothing algorithm. In some circumstances, these smoothingalgorithms eliminate narrow spikes or dips in the intensities of theswipe contact for purposes of determining a characteristic intensity.

The intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface optionally canbe characterized relative to one or more intensity thresholds, such as acontact-detection intensity threshold, a light press intensitythreshold, a deep press intensity threshold, and/or one or more otherintensity thresholds. In some embodiments, the light press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations typically associated with clicking a button of a physicalmouse or a trackpad. In some embodiments, the deep press intensitythreshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will performoperations that are different from operations typically associated withclicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad. In someembodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominalcontact-detection intensity threshold below which the contact is nolonger detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordancewith movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface withoutperforming an operation associated with the light press intensitythreshold or the deep press intensity threshold. Generally, unlessotherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent betweendifferent sets of user interface figures.

An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensitybelow the light press intensity threshold to an intensity between thelight press intensity threshold and the deep press intensity thresholdis sometimes referred to as a “light press” input. An increase ofcharacteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deeppress intensity threshold to an intensity above the deep press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input. An increaseof characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below thecontact-detection intensity threshold to an intensity between thecontact-detection intensity threshold and the light press intensitythreshold is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on thetouch-surface. A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contactfrom an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold to anintensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold is sometimesreferred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold is zero.In some embodiments, the contact-detection intensity threshold isgreater than zero.

In some embodiments described herein, one or more operations areperformed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respectivepress input or in response to detecting the respective press inputperformed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), wherethe respective press input is detected based at least in part ondetecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality ofcontacts) above a press-input intensity threshold. In some embodiments,the respective operation is performed in response to detecting theincrease in intensity of the respective contact above the press-inputintensity threshold (e.g., a “down stroke” of the respective pressinput). In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase inintensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensitythreshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact belowthe press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation isperformed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensityof the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., an “upstroke” of the respective press input).

In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoidaccidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines orselects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationshipto the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensitythreshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensitythreshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or somereasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold). Thus, insome embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity ofthe respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and asubsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresisintensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensitythreshold, and the respective operation is performed in response todetecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contactbelow the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., an “up stroke” of therespective press input). Similarly, in some embodiments, the press inputis detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of thecontact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity thresholdto an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and,optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to anintensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respectiveoperation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g.,the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity ofthe contact, depending on the circumstances).

For ease of explanation, the descriptions of operations performed inresponse to a press input associated with a press-input intensitythreshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are,optionally, triggered in response to detecting either: an increase inintensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, anincrease in intensity of a contact from an intensity below thehysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-inputintensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below thepress-input intensity threshold, and/or a decrease in intensity of thecontact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to thepress-input intensity threshold. Additionally, in examples where anoperation is described as being performed in response to detecting adecrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensitythreshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response todetecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresisintensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-inputintensity threshold.

As used herein, an “installed application” refers to a softwareapplication that has been downloaded onto an electronic device (e.g.,devices 100, 300, and/or 500) and is ready to be launched (e.g., becomeopened) on the device. In some embodiments, a downloaded applicationbecomes an installed application by way of an installation program thatextracts program portions from a downloaded package and integrates theextracted portions with the operating system of the computer system.

As used herein, the term “open application”, “executing application”,“open plugin”, or “executing plugin” refers to a software application orplugin with retained state information (e.g., as part of device/globalinternal state 157 and/or application internal state 192). An open orexecuting application or open or executing plugin optionally can be anyone of the following types of applications or plugin:

-   -   an active application or plugin, which is currently displayed on        a display screen of the device that the application or plugin is        being used on;    -   a background application or plugin (or background processes),        which is not currently displayed, but one or more processes for        the application or plugin are being processed by one or more        processors; and    -   a suspended or hibernated application or plugin, which is not        running, but has state information that is stored in memory        (volatile and non-volatile, respectively) and that can be used        to resume execution of the application or plugin.

As used herein, the term “closed application” or “closed plugin” refersto software applications without retained state information (e.g., stateinformation for closed applications is not stored in a memory of thedevice). Accordingly, closing an application includes stopping and/orremoving application processes for the application and removing stateinformation for the application from the memory of the device.Generally, opening a second application while in a first applicationdoes not close the first application. When the second application isdisplayed and the first application ceases to be displayed, the firstapplication becomes a background application.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)and associated processes that optionally can be implemented on anelectronic device, such as portable multifunction device 100, device300, or device 500.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate exemplary user interfaces relating to thedisabling of installed plugins, in accordance with some embodiments. Theuser interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processesdescribed below, including the processes in FIGS. 7A-7D.

FIG. 6A illustrates an affordance (602) for activating the installedplugin on a display (112) of an electronic device (100). As describedelsewhere in this document, the affordance (602) is touchable,clickable, or otherwise selectable by the user. Associated with theaffordance (602), a description optionally is provided to the userexplaining the action associated with the affordance (602). A secondaffordance (604) associated with not activating the installed pluginoptionally is provided on the display (112) as well.

FIG. 6B illustrates an affordance (606) associated with one or moreinstalled plugins on a display (e.g., 112, 340, 504). As describedelsewhere in this document, the affordance (606) is touchable,clickable, or otherwise selectable by the user. Associated with theaffordance (606), a description optionally is provided to the userregarding the associated plugin. The affordance (606) is selectable bythe user to identify a particular installed plugin as meeting thedisabling criteria, or to alter the disabling criteria.

FIG. 6C illustrates a browser (e.g., 608) that is displayed on thedisplay (e.g., 112, 340, 504). A webpage (610) is displayed in thebrowser application (e.g., 608). The webpage includes a media block(612), where playback of media within the media block (612) iscontrolled by an installed plugin (e.g., wherein markup languageassociated with the webpage results in the rendered media block). The Xthrough the media block (612) schematically represents what is perceivedby a user when the installed plugin that controls the media block (612)is disabled and/or not installed and therefore not available to renderthe media content. When the installed plugin that controls the mediablock (612) is disabled or not installed, the media block optionallyindicates that in any suitable manner; the media block (612) optionallyis crossed out as shown in FIG. 6C, grayed out, blacked out, ordisplayed in another manner. Text block (614) is properly rendered,since the data associated with text block (614) does not require aplugin and is therefore properly rendered by browser (e.g., 608).

FIG. 6D illustrates the webpage of FIG. 6C, where the plugin thatcontrols the media block (612) has been reported as installed, inaccordance with the methods described herein. In some embodiments,reporting the plugin as uninstalled results in the data source (e.g.,the web domain) presenting the media in an alternative format that doesnot require the disabled or uninstalled plugin. Visual functionality,such as video playback, has been restored, so that the user can viewmedia in the media block (612).

FIGS. 7A-7D are a flow diagram illustrating a method for disabling oneor more plugins associated with a browser application (e.g., 608) usingan electronic device in accordance with some embodiments. Method 700optionally can be performed at a device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) with adisplay. Some operations in method 700 optionally can be combined, theorder of some operations optionally can be changed, and some operationsoptionally can be omitted. In particular, optional operations indicatedwith dashed-line shapes in FIGS. 7A-7D optionally can be performed inany suitable order, if at all, and need not be performed in the orderset forth in FIGS. 7A-7D.

As described below, method 700 provides an intuitive way for disablingone or more plugins associated with a browser application (e.g., 608).The method reduces the cognitive burden on a user for disabling one ormore plugins associated with a browser application, thereby creating amore efficient human-machine interface. For all devices, the presentdisclosure provides for increased protection against malware, andprovides for display of media in preferred formats that are lesssusceptible to malware. For battery-operated computing devices, enablinga user to disable one or more plugins associated with a browserapplication (e.g., 608) faster and more efficiently conserves power andincreases the time between battery charges.

In some embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500)includes a display (e.g., 112, 340, 504). A plugin is installed on theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500). A plugin is a softwarecomponent that adds a specific feature to a different softwareapplication. For example, a plugin optionally is used in conjunctionwith a web browser to add new features such as media playback. Exemplaryplugins include the QuickTime® player plugin of Apple Corporation andthe Flash® plugin of Adobe Corporation. A browser application (e.g.,608) optionally is installed on the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300,500). The browser application (e.g., 608) optionally is compliant withthe HTML5 standard; if so, the browser application (e.g., 608) itself iscapable of playing media information in HTML5 format, without the needto use a plugin for media playback. The electronic device (e.g., 100,300, 500) receives (702) information identifying at least one plugin asmeeting a disabling criteria. The information optionally can take anysuitable form and optionally can be received from any suitable source.As one example, the Xprotect software associated with the AppleCorporation Mac OS X operating system transmits information identifyingat least one plugin as meeting a disabling criteria. In someembodiments, the identifying at least one plugin as meeting disablingcriteria is received from an external server or any other suitablesource. Disabling criteria is criteria specifying one or more plugins asidentified for disabling according to the process below. For example,the criteria include a plugin name and version number or file names orother identifying data for the plugin. In this way, Xprotect or othersimilar software identifies certain specific plugins as banned orrestricted plugins that cannot or should not be utilized. In someembodiments, the criteria include more general information associatedwith a plugin, such as the author, kind (e.g., video playback, audioplayback, document view), or other suitable information. In someembodiments, as described in greater detail below, the disablingcriteria are based at least in part on user input entered in theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500).

In some embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500)receives (704) first data from a data source. For example, the firstdata is a webpage or information associated with a webpage, such asvideo data, audio data, and/or one or more links (e.g., URLs) associatedwith media data. The data source optionally is a server that hosts thewebsite. In some embodiments, the server hosts audio data, video data,or other data instead of or in addition to a website. In someembodiments, the data source provides for file sharing. The first datais associated with a request to perform a function with the installedplugin described in the previous paragraph. For example, the first datais a webpage that includes video data, or a URL or link to video datathat is playable by a specific plugin. That webpage optionally includesa request to play the video data with the specific plugin used to playvideo data of a particular format. In some circumstances, upon receivingfirst data from the data source, the installed plugin is runningalready. In some embodiments, the first data is associated with arequest to perform a function with the installed plugin, where thefunction includes launching the installed plugin. In some embodiments,the first data is, or includes, a query from the data source about thepresence of the plugin. Such a query optionally is in the form of aJavaScript or a JavaScript framework function supplied by, e.g., jQuery,or any other suitable form of query.

The electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) determines (706) whether theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria. In some embodiments, theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) compares one or morecharacteristics or qualities of the installed plugin to the disablingcriteria. In accordance with a determination that the installed pluginmeets a disabling criteria; the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500)forgoes (708) performing the function with the installed plugin. In someembodiments, as a result, media is not displayed in the media block(e.g., 612) of a webpage (e.g., 610) displayed in a browser application(e.g., 608), as seen in FIG. 6C. Additionally, the electronic device(e.g., 100, 300, 500) reports (710) to the data source that theinstalled plugin is not installed on the electronic device (e.g., 100,300, 500). This reporting differs from known plugin handling, in whichit would be reported to the data source that the installed plugin is infact installed on the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500).Optionally, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) and/or browserapplication (e.g., 608) set a flag indicating that the installed pluginis not installed on the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500), forfaster determination if a data source attempts to utilize or invoke theinstalled plugin at a later time.

In accordance with a determination that the installed plugin does notmeet the disabling criteria, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500)performs (712) the function with the installed plugin. For example, theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) optionally plays a video fileassociated with the first data in the media block (612) of a webpage(610) displayed in a browser application (e.g., 608), as seen in FIG.6D.

In some embodiments, after reporting to the data source that theinstalled plugin is not installed on the electronic device, theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) receives (714) second datadifferent from the first data from the data source. For example, thesecond data is alternative content from the first data, or is the samedata as the first data but in a different format. As set forth above,the data source optionally is a website. The second data optionallyincludes an instruction to perform a function that is incompatible withthe installed plugin. For example, the function is the playback of videoinformation that is in a format incompatible with the installed plugin.In some embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) thenperforms (716) the function with the browser application (e.g., 608).For example, where the browser (e.g., 608) application is compliant withthe HTML5 standard, and the second data is video in HTML5 format, thefunction is performed in the media block (612) of a webpage (610)displayed in a browser application (e.g., 608), as seen in FIG. 6D, Insome embodiments, after receiving second data different from the firstdata, where the second data includes an instruction to perform a secondfunction incompatible with the installed plugin but is compatible with asecond installed plugin, the electronic device then performs (718) thefunction with the second installed plugin. For example, the secondplugin is capable of playing audio in a format that the installed pluginis not capable of playing. The second data optionally includes aninstruction to perform a second function with a second installed plugindistinct from the first installed plugin.

In some embodiments, after reporting to the data source that theinstalled plugin is not installed on the electronic device (e.g., 100,300, 500), the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) receives (720)from the data source instructions corresponding to a request to installthe installed plugin on the device. Such instructions optionally areincluded in the first data originally transmitted to the electronicdevice (e.g., 100, 300, 500), or optionally are transmitted to theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) by the data source in responseto reporting that the installed plugin is not installed on theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500). In response to receiving theinstructions corresponding to a request to install the installed pluginon the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500), the electronic device(e.g., 100, 300, 500) optionally displays (722) an affordance (602) foractivating the installed plugin on a display (e.g., 112, 340, 504) (FIG.6A). As described elsewhere in this document, the affordance (e.g., 602)optionally is touchable, clickable, or otherwise selectable by the user.Associated with the affordance (e.g., 602), a description optionally isprovided to the user explaining the action associated with theaffordance (e.g., 602). A second affordance (604) associated with notactivating the installed plugin optionally is provided on the display(e.g., 112, 340, 504) as well. The electronic device (e.g., 100, 300,500) optionally receives (724) an input corresponding to selection ofthe affordance (e.g., 602). In response to receiving the inputcorresponding to selection of the affordance (e.g., 602), the electronicdevice (e.g., 100, 300, 500) optionally performs (726) a function withthe installed plugin associated with the first data. Additionally, orinstead, after receiving the input corresponding to selection of theaffordance, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) optionallyenables (728) performance of instructions to perform a function with theinstalled plugin that are received from the data source, whilecontinuing forgoing performance of the function with the installedplugin for data from other data sources. In some embodiments, theinstalled plugin is enabled only for particular data sources such asparticular websites, where there is a need or user desire to utilize theinstalled plugin even though it meets disabling criteria.

Optionally, the user chooses to install (730) an updated version of theinstalled plugin. Often, older versions of a plugin meet the disablingcriteria; in contrast, the most recent version of a plugin has beenupdated to withstand security threats. In response to installing theupdated version of the installed plugin, the disabling criteria arealtered (732) so that the installed plugin does not meet the disablingcriteria. Alternately, the updated version of the installed plugin doesnot meet the original, unaltered disabling criteria. As a result, theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) performs a function with theupdated, installed plugin associated with the first data.

Optionally, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) receives inputfrom a user identifying at least one plugin as meeting the disablingcriteria. Additionally, or instead, the electronic device (e.g., 100,300, 500) optionally receives (734) input from a user altering thedisabling criteria. For example, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300,500) displays an affordance (606) associated with one or more installedplugins on a display (e.g., 112, 340, 504) (FIG. 6B). As describedelsewhere in this document, the affordance (e.g., 606) optionally istouchable, clickable, or otherwise selectable by the user. Associatedwith the affordance (e.g., 606), a description optionally is provided tothe user regarding the associated plugin. The user optionally selectsthe affordance (606) to identify a particular installed plugin asmeeting the disabling criteria, or to alter the disabling criteria. Inresponse to receiving user input corresponding to a request to alter thedisabling criteria, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500)optionally alters (736) the disabling criteria. By affirmativelychoosing to run the installed plugin, such as by engaging an affordancein a preferences menu or in any other suitable manner, the user altersthe disabling criteria.

In some embodiments, the affirmative user update of an installed pluginis inferred in one or more different ways. In some embodiments, theinstalled plugin is installed (738) in a browser application (e.g., 608)on the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500). The electronic device(e.g., 100, 300, 500) can close (740) the browser application (e.g.,608), with or without user input. In response to closing the browserapplication, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) optionallystores (742) a version number of the installed plugin. The electronicdevice (e.g., 100, 300, 500) restarts (744) the browser application(e.g., 608), with or without user input. In response to the restartingthe browser application, the electronic device optionally obtains (746)the version number of the installed plugin. The electronic device (e.g.,100, 300, 500) determines (748) whether the version number of the pluginstored in response to closing the browser application differs from theversion number of the plugin obtained in response to restarting thebrowser application (e.g., 608). In accordance with a determination thatthe version of the plugin stored in response to closing the browserapplication is different from the version of the plugin obtained inresponse to restarting the browser application (e.g., 608), theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) determines (750) that theinstalled plugin does not meet the disabling criteria. Because theversion number of the installed plugin has changed, it is inferred thatthe user affirmatively updated the installed plugin. In accordance witha determination that the version of the plugin stored in response toclosing the browser application (e.g., 608) is the same as the versionof the plugin obtained in response to restarting the browser (e.g., 608)application, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) determines(752) that the installed plugin still meets the disabling criteria. Insome embodiments, the electronic device determines that the installedplugin does not meet the disabling criteria if the version number of theinstalled plugin obtained in response to restarting is greater than theversion number of the installed plugin stored in response to closing thebrowser application. In some embodiments, the version numbers comparedare the version number stored at the time when the plugin is disabledand the version number at the time a request to re-launch the plugin(e.g., at browser launch or when a webpage provides instructions tolaunch the plugin) is received by the electronic device. In someembodiments, the values compared are the modification date of the pluginat the time the plugin is disabled and the modification date of theplugin at the time the a request to re-launch the plugin (e.g., atbrowser launch or when a webpage provides instructions to launch theplugin) is received by the electronic device.

The version numbers are the same, so it is inferred that the user tookno action to update the installed plugin.

Optionally, a different process is used to infer whether an installedplugin has been updated as a result of affirmative user choice. Forexample, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) determines (754)whether an installer associated with the installed plugin is running.Responsive to a determination that an installer is running, theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) determines (756) whether theinstaller is running as root. In accordance with a determination thatthe installer is not running as root, the electronic device (e.g., 100,300, 500) determines (758) that the installed plugin does not meet thedisabling criteria. Because the installer is not running as root, it isinferred that the installer is running as a result of its deliberateactivation by the user. In accordance with a determination that theinstaller is running as root, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300,500) determines (760) that the installed plugin meets the disablingcriteria. Because the installer is running as root, it is inferred thatthe installer is attempting an automatic update of the installed plugin,and that the user took no action to update the installed plugin.Optionally, determining whether an installer associated with theinstalled plugin is running is performed (762) while a browserapplication is closed, where the installed plugin is associated withthat browser application.

In some embodiments, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) updates(764) the installed plugin in accordance with an automated updatepolicy. For example, the installed plugin is updated in respond to anexternal command. As another example, the installed plugin is updated asa consequence of an automated update schedule. After updating theinstalled plugin, the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) optionallyreceives (766) first data from a data source, where the first dataincludes an instruction to perform a function with the updated plugin.In response to receiving (768) the first data from the data source, theelectronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500) forgoes (770) performance of thefunction with the installed plugin, and reports (772) the plugin asuninstalled to the data source. Because the installed plugin was updatedautomatically, without affirmative user action to update the plugin, thestatus of the plugin as covered by the disabling criteria is unchanged.As a result, media is not displayed in the media block (612) of awebpage (610) displayed in a browser application (e.g., 608), as seen inFIG. 6C. As set forth above, in some embodiments, a flag is set for aninstalled plugin when the installed plugin meets the disabling criteria;if so, the flag is not cleared when the installed plugin is updatedautomatically.

In accordance with some embodiments, FIG. 8 shows an exemplaryfunctional block diagram of an electronic device 800 configured inaccordance with the principles of the various described embodiments. Inaccordance with some embodiments, the functional blocks of electronicdevice 800 are configured to perform the techniques described above. Thefunctional blocks of the device 800 are, optionally, implemented byhardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carryout the principles of the various described examples. It is understoodby persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described inFIG. 8 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks toimplement the principles of the various described examples. Therefore,the description herein optionally supports any possible combination orseparation or further definition of the functional blocks describedherein.

As shown in FIG. 8, an electronic device (800) includes a displayenabling unit (802) configured to display a graphic user interface,optionally, a touch-sensitive surface unit (804) configured to receivecontacts, and a processing unit (806) coupled to the display enablingunit (802) and, optionally, the touch-sensitive surface unit (804). Insome embodiments, the processing unit 806 includes a receiving unit(808), a determining unit (810), a reporting unit (812), and/or aninputting unit (814).

The processing unit (806) includes, a determining unit (810), areporting unit (812), and an inputting unit (814), and the processingunit is configured to enable (e.g., with processing unit 806), while aplugin is installed on the device, receiving (e.g., with processing unit806) first data from a data source, the first data associated with theinstalled plugin; and determine (e.g., with the determining unit 810),in response to receipt of the first data from the data source while theplugin is installed on the device, if the installed plugin meets adisabling criteria. In accordance with a determination that theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria, the processing unit (806)is configured to forgo performance of a function with the installedplugin; and report with the reporting unit (812) to the data source thatthe installed plugin is not installed on the electronic device. As aresult, media is not displayed in the media block (612) of a webpage(610) displayed in a browser application (e.g., 608), as seen in FIG.6C. In accordance with a determination that the installed plugin doesnot meet the disabling criteria, the processing unit (806) is configuredto perform the function with the installed plugin. As a result, media isdisplayed in the media block (612) of a webpage (610) displayed in abrowser application (e.g., 608), as seen in FIG. 6D. In someembodiments, the first data is a query from the data source about thepresence of the plugin. In some embodiments, the first data is aninstruction to perform a function with the installed plugin.

In some embodiments, the processing unit (806) is further configured to,after the report to the data source that the installed plugin is notinstalled on the electronic device (e.g., 100, 300, 500), and while abrowser application (e.g., 608) is installed on the device, receive(e.g., with the receiving unit 808) second data different from the firstdata from the data source, the second data including an instruction toperform a second function incompatible with the installed plugin; andperform (e.g., with the processing unit 806) the second function withthe browser application (e.g., 608).

In some embodiments, the processing unit (806) is further configured to,after reporting to the data source that the installed plugin is notinstalled on the electronic device, and while a second plugin isinstalled on the device, receive (e.g., with the receiving unit 808)second data different from the first data from the data source, thesecond data including an instruction to perform a second functionincompatible with the installed plugin; and perform (e.g., with theprocessing unit 806) the second function with the second plugin.

In some embodiments, where the second data includes an instruction toperform a second function with a second installed plugin distinct fromthe first installed plugin, the processing unit (806) is furtherconfigured to perform (e.g., with processing unit 806) the secondfunction with the second plugin.

In some embodiments, where the installed plugin meets the disablingcriteria, and a display enabling unit (802) and a touch-sensitivesurface unit (804) are coupled to the processing unit, the processingunit (806) is further configured to receive (e.g., with the receivingunit 808) from the data source instructions corresponding to a requestto install the installed plugin on the device. In response to receipt ofthe instructions corresponding to a request to install the installedplugin on the device, the electronic device (800) is further configuredto enable the display (e.g., with the display enabling unit 802) of anaffordance for activating the installed plugin. In some embodiments, thetouch-sensitive surface unit (804) receives an input corresponding toselection of the affordance, and in response to receipt of the inputcorresponding to selection of the affordance, the processing unit (806)is further configured to perform (e.g., with the processing unit 800)the function with the installed plugin.

In some embodiments, the processing unit (800) is further configured to,after receipt of the input corresponding to selection of the affordance,enable (e.g., with the processing unit 800) performance of instructionsto perform a function with the installed plugin that are received fromthe data source, while continuing to forgo (e.g., with the processingunit 800) performance of the function with the installed plugin for datafrom other data sources.

In some embodiments the installed plugin is a multimedia player.

In some embodiments the inputting unit (814) is further configured toreceive input from a user identifying at least one plugin as meeting thedisabling criteria.

In some embodiments, where the installed plugin meets the disablingcriteria, the processing unit (800) is further configured to install(e.g., with the processing unit 800) an updated version of the installedplugin; in response to installation of the updated version of theinstalled plugin, alter (e.g., with the processing unit 806) thedisabling criteria so that the installed plugin does not meet thedisabling criteria.

In some embodiments, where the installed plugin meets the disablingcriteria, the processing unit (800) is further configured to receive(e.g., with the receiving unit 808) user input corresponding to arequest to alter the disabling criteria; and in response to receipt ofuser input corresponding to a request to alter the disabling criteria,alter (e.g., with the processing unit 800) the disabling criteria.

In some embodiments, where the electronic device further includes abrowser application in which the installed plugin is installed; theprocessing unit (800) is further configured to close (e.g., with theprocessing unit 800) the browser application; in response to closure ofthe browser application, store (e.g., with the processing unit 800) aversion number of the installed plugin (or a modification date of theinstalled plugin); restart (e.g., with the processing unit 800) thebrowser application; and in response to the restart of the browserapplication (or the installed plugin); obtain (e.g., with the processingunit 800) the version number of the installed plugin (or themodification date of the installed plugin). In some embodiments, theprocessing unit (800) is further configured to determine (e.g., with thedetermining unit 810) whether the version number of the plugin stored inresponse to the closing differs from the version number of the pluginobtained in response to the restarting. In accordance with adetermination that the version of the plugin stored in response to theclosing is different from the version of the plugin obtained in responseto the restarting, determine (e.g., with the determining unit 810) thatthe installed plugin does not meet the disabling criteria. In accordancewith a determination that the version of the plugin stored in responseto the closing is the same as the version of the plugin obtained inresponse to the restarting, determine (e.g., with the determining unit810) that the installed plugin meets the disabling criteria.

In some embodiments, the processing unit (806) is further configured todetermine (e.g., with the determining unit 810) whether an installerassociated with the installed plugin is running; responsive to adetermination that an installer is running, determine (e.g., with thedetermining unit 810) whether the installer is running as root; inaccordance with a determination that the installer is not running asroot, determine (e.g., with the determining unit 810) that the installedplugin does not meet the disabling criteria; and in accordance with adetermination that the installer is running as root, determine (e.g.,with the determining unit 810) that the installed plugin meets thedisabling criteria. In some embodiments, while a browser application isinstalled on the device, the determination (e.g., with the determiningunit 810) whether an installer associated with the installed plugin isrunning is performed (e.g., with the processing unit 806) while thebrowser application is closed or while the browser application is open.

In some embodiments, where the installed plugin meets the disablingcriteria, the processing unit (806) is further configured to update(e.g., with the processing unit 806) the installed plugin in accordancewith an automated update policy; and after updating the installedplugin, receive (e.g., with the processing unit 806) first data from adata source, the first data including an instruction to perform afunction with the (automatically) updated plugin. In some embodiments,in response to receipt of the first data from the data source, theprocessing unit (806) is further configured to forgo (e.g., with theprocessing unit 806) performance of the function with the installedplugin; and report (e.g., with the reporting unit 812) the plugin asuninstalled.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 7A-7D are,optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B or FIG. 8.For example, event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact ontouch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174 deliversthe event information to application 136-1. A respective eventrecognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information torespective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contactat a first location on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to apredefined event or sub event, such as activation of an affordance on auser interface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event isdetected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associatedwith the detection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190optionally utilizes or calls data updater 176 or object updater 177 toupdate the application internal state 192. In some embodiments, eventhandler 190 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what isdisplayed by the application. Similarly, it would be clear to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implementedbased on the components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1B.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the techniques and their practical applications. Othersskilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniquesand various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined bythe claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring one or more programs, the one or more programs comprisinginstructions, which when executed by an electronic device with adisplay, cause the electronic device to: while a plugin is installed onthe device, receive first data from a data source, the first dataassociated with the installed plugin; in response to receipt of thefirst data from the data source while the plugin is installed on thedevice, determine if the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria; inaccordance with a determination that the installed plugin meets adisabling criteria: forego performance of a function with the installedplugin; and report to the data source that the installed plugin is notinstalled on the electronic device; in accordance with a determinationthat the installed plugin does not meet the disabling criteria, performa function with the installed plugin.
 2. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first data is aquery from the data source about the presence of the plugin.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein thefirst data is an instruction to perform a function with the installedplugin.
 4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim1, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device,cause the device to: after the report to the data source that theinstalled plugin is not installed on the electronic device, while abrowser application is installed on the device, receive second datadifferent from the first data from the data source, the second dataincluding an instruction to perform a second function incompatible withthe installed plugin; and perform the second function with the browserapplication.
 5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions,which when executed by the one or more processors of the electronicdevice, cause the device to: after the report to the data source thatthe installed plugin is not installed on the electronic device, while asecond plugin is installed on the device, receive second data differentfrom the first data from the data source, the second data including aninstruction to perform a second function incompatible with the installedplugin; and perform the second function with the second plugin.
 6. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein theone or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executedby the one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the deviceto: wherein the second data includes an instruction to perform a secondfunction with a second installed plugin distinct from the firstinstalled plugin: perform the second function with the second plugin. 7.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreprograms, the one or more programs comprising instructions, of claim 1,wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device,cause the device to: wherein the installed plugin meets the disablingcriteria: receive from the data source instructions corresponding to arequest to install the installed plugin on the device; in response toreceipt of the instructions corresponding to a request to install theinstalled plugin on the device, display an affordance for activating theinstalled plugin; receive an input corresponding to selection of theaffordance, in response to receipt of the input corresponding toselection of the affordance, perform the function with the installedplugin.
 8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim7, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device,cause the device to: after receipt of the input corresponding toselection of the affordance, enable performance of instructions toperform a function with the installed plugin that are received from thedata source, while continuing to forgo performance of the function withthe installed plugin for data from other data sources.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein theinstalled plugin is a multimedia player.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprograms further comprise instructions, which when executed by the oneor more processors of the electronic device, cause the device to:wherein the installed plugin meets the disabling criteria: install anupdated version of the installed plugin; in response to installation ofthe updated version of the installed plugin, alter the disablingcriteria so that the installed plugin does not meet the disablingcriteria.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions,which when executed by the one or more processors of the electronicdevice, cause the device to: receive input from a user identifying atleast one plugin as meeting the disabling criteria.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein theone or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executedby the one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the deviceto: wherein the installed plugin meets the disabling criteria: receiveuser input corresponding to a request to alter the disabling criteria;and in response to receipt of user input corresponding to a request toalter the disabling criteria, alter the disabling criteria.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or moreprograms, the one or more programs comprising instructions, of claim 1,wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors of the electronic device,cause the device to: wherein the electronic device further comprises abrowser application in which the installed plugin is installed: closethe browser application; in response to closure of the browserapplication, store a version number of the installed plugin; restart thebrowser application; in response to the restart of the browserapplication; obtain the version number of the installed plugin;determine whether the version number of the plugin stored in response tothe closing differs from the version number of the plugin obtained inresponse to the restarting; in accordance with a determination that theversion of the plugin stored in response to the closure is differentfrom the version of the plugin obtained in response to the restarting,determine that the installed plugin does not meet the disablingcriteria; in accordance with a determination that the version of theplugin stored in response to the closure is the same as the version ofthe plugin obtained in response to the restarting, determine that theinstalled plugin meets the disabling criteria.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprograms further comprise instructions, which when executed by the oneor more processors of the electronic device, cause the device to:determine whether an installer associated with the installed plugin isrunning; responsive to a determination that an installer is running,determine whether the installer is running as root; in accordance with adetermination that the installer is not running as root, determine thatthe installed plugin does not meet the disabling criteria; and inaccordance with a determination that the installer is running as root,determine that the installed plugin meets the disabling criteria. 15.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, whereinthe one or more programs further comprise instructions, which whenexecuted by the one or more processors of the electronic device, causethe device to: wherein, while a browser application is installed on thedevice: determine whether an installer associated with the installedplugin is running while the browser application is closed.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein theone or more programs further comprise instructions, which when executedby the one or more processors of the electronic device, cause the deviceto: wherein the installed plugin meets the disabling criteria, updatethe installed plugin in accordance with an automated update policy:after update of the installed plugin, receive first data from a datasource, the first data including an instruction to perform a functionwith the updated plugin; in response to receipt of the first data fromthe data source: forego performance of the function with the installedplugin; and report the plugin as uninstalled.
 17. An electronic device,comprising: a display; a memory; a processor coupled to the display andthe memory; and an installed plugin stored in the memory and executableby the processor; the processor configured to: receive first data from adata source, the first data associated with the installed plugin; inresponse to receipt of the first data from the data source, determiningif the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria; in accordance with adetermination that the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria:forgo performance of a function with the installed plugin; and report tothe data source that the installed plugin is not installed on theelectronic device; in accordance with a determination that the installedplugin does not meet the disabling criteria, perform the function withthe installed plugin.
 18. A method, comprising: at an electronic devicewith a display: while a plugin is installed on the device, receivingfirst data from a data source, the first data associated with theinstalled plugin; in response to receiving the first data from the datasource while the plugin is installed on the device, determining if theinstalled plugin meets a disabling criteria; in accordance with adetermination that the installed plugin meets a disabling criteria:forgoing performance of a function with the installed plugin; andreporting to the data source that the installed plugin is not installedon the electronic device; in accordance with a determination that theinstalled plugin does not meet the disabling criteria, performing afunction with the installed plugin.